Of Secrets and War
by shayrulz
Summary: In the span of 7 years an organization has invaded and overthrown a little less than half of the countries of the world. Sergeant First Class Kagome Higurashi has just been selected to attend the qualification course for an elite special forces group. Can the action of one girl really change the course of history?
1. Chapter 1

**HeyFanfiction! A big thanks to Grimmichi for suggesting writing a story to go with my fanart Fully Loaded. This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic so please be kind and I hope you all enjoy it! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas created by the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi**

"this" **means someone's speaking**

**_'this'_ is someone's thoughts**

**"this"** **is something that happened in the past**

**Recently just revised this so if you've already read this chapter ya might wanna do so again.**

**#^%$&*^%(&^%*^&%**

Darkness...

That's all I've ever known while in here, wherever here is.

It feels as though I've been stuck in this nothingness for years but that could just be due to my lack of senses.

No sound. No light. Nothing to feel. Just darkness.

As I lay here, contemplating the void that I've come to inhabit, one thought keeps repeating in my mind over and over...

_**'I should have trusted him.'**_

_**%#&^$%*&^%*$%&%**_

As the sun rose and lit up the morning sky its warm rays shone through the small rectangular window of a military base's bunker that housed a slumbering woman. With long hair as black as night and porcelain skin that's been kissed by the sun, she was a sight to behold even as she slept. Not long after the bright sunrise an alarm on a tiny square dresser went off signaling the beginning of a new day for the young woman. A dainty hand flew out from under the thin sheets faster than a normal person could move due to reflexes that have been honed over the years...and of course practice at silencing the blasted contraption.

A groan was heard as the woman slowly lifted herself up from the old cot she had previously been sleeping on and, with a long stretch and a sigh, got ready for another day of training, drills, and, best of all, yelling.

"Rise and shine girl! In 10 minutes you better be dressed and in the Chow hall!"

Glaring harshly at her door with sharp azure eyes, wishing her so called "best friend" would cease her shouting so damn early, the girl quickly slipped out of her pajamas and into her *PT clothes. With a practiced ease that only came from repetition, the grouchy female fixed her unruly black locks into a long sleek ponytail that reached the small of her back, then proceeded out of her room and towards the mess hall.

**_'I swear I'm gunna kill that girl.'_**

As she was passing through the hallways that lead to the chow hall other cadets would occasionally pause in their movements and give a slight nod of acknowledgement or a wave of their hand in her direction before proceeding with their previous activities.

Being the first female cadet accepted into SPOK training earned you a certain level of respect with your peers. Even the best of some of the special forces couldn't make the cut to even be considered for the training, which said a lot about the youthful woman steadily progressing towards the large dining room.

SPOK, or Special Performance and Operation Killing, is considered the elite of the elite within the United Nations Army. Just as their name suggests, they're as mysterious and elusive as ghosts themselves, and just as dangerous too. All of their missions are considered highly classified and they're all sworn to secrecy the minute they're initiated. Every once in a while the regular cadets and officers will catch a glimpse of one of the elusive members but for the most part they stay within their own private compound provided to them by the five star general, Inu no Taisho, himself.

Upon entering the Chow Hall she heard the tell tale shout of "Kagome!" before she was assaulted by a crushing hug from none other than her best friend, Sango.

With chocolate brown hair, slightly tanned skin, and kind but perceptive eyes, Sango made a very pretty picture. Even though she could seem innocent and, standing at 5'4", kinda small, she was anything but. Coming from a long line of demon slayers and being considered the prodigy of her clan, she was a strong, independent, and, at times, scary woman...depending on who you ask.

Gathering her bearings she glanced back at the woman hanging onto her back like an attention deprived monkey.

"Geez Sango can't you even give a girl time to wake up before trying to suffocate them?" She asked in a flat tone directed towards the other woman.

Rolling her eyes and letting go of the grumpy woman Sango just crossed her taut arms over her chest and replied in her own flat tone, "Shouldn't you be used to this by now? I mean it has been 4 years since you first joined."

Pouting and refusing to answer, because she knew her friend was right, Kagome just turned around and continued her journey to the serving line with a laughing Sango not far behind.

Upon reaching the food they noticed most of it had already been taken and picked through. Sharing a look with Sango and thinking fast, Kagome grabbed everything she wanted before anyone else could. Unfortunately (or fortunately in Kagome's case) that left the brunette with very little to choose from.

**_'Serves her right for tackling me'_**, she thought sticking her tongue out at her friend and continuing her journey down the line.

Finally gathering the last of her breakfast the hungry cadet headed on over to her normal table and sat with her platoon, digging into her food as soon as her bottom touched the hard plastic of the cream colored bench .

Observant blue eyes did a quick take of the table and noted that their lieutenant had just walked up to the long table.

**_'Better hurry and finish before him or else I'll never make it through the day.'_**

Glancing over again as discretely as possible, she watched with a slightly disgusted and annoyed expression as he wolfed everything down like a starving, rabid dog. **_'Well he technically __IS__ a dog, but still, I swear he does it on purpose!'_**

The silver haired half demon, Lieutenant Inuyasha Taisho, sat at the head of the table finishing up his meal at record speed all the while twitching his puppy dog ears in different directions and looking around, ensuring that no one was making small talk. According to him "If you've got time to chat you mustn't be that hungry."

Kagome had known Inuyasha since high school in the ROTC program, both pursuing careers in the armed forces. He was also one of the few personnel that was selected for SPOK training with her. Including the both of them, there were some 200 hopeful applicants this year with an annual acceptance rate of less than 1 percent. Competition was fierce and, being the only and first girl participating in the qualification process, they were going to be twice as hard on her.

Having finally gotten her food Sango joined her friend at the table and proceeded to eat with a fierce concentration that was on the face of every cadet that had peeked at their commanding officer. There was only so much time allotted for eating and as soon as Inuyasha was finished so was everyone else in the platoon...even if you weren't.

After about 10 minutes had passed Inuyasha stood up from his seat, a silent command that breakfast was over, and went to dispose of his tray. Not a second behind, his platoon followed his example. Some satisfied and full and others wishing they had woke up with their alarms seeing as it left them hungry.

Noticing the resigned look on Sango's face Kagome shot a smug smirk in her direction, earning an expression that clearly said **_'This is your fault.'_**

After disposing of their trash they headed out to the back of the base and began their morning PT, or physical training, which consisted of their warm up, running, push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups.

As usual Kagome came in first, or at least, in the front group for every activity, surpassing and keeping up with even some of the most athletic people of her platoon.

An hour into their regular training the platoon was coming in from the final stretch of their usual 5 mile run and Kagome was neck and neck with Inuyasha in the lead and she was slowly gaining.

Since high school they'd always had a rivalry between them concerning who was the best. They'd hold contests ranging from who could run the fastest to who could guess the right amount of jelly beans in a jar. Ridiculous, yes, but true. It's was thanks to this that she had become so physically fit and even considered joining the SPOK.

One night Inuyasha had began boasting about applying for the elite group stating that only "_REAL_ men" could join and that women were just "to weak and fragile" for it, all the while smirking in her direction. To say that this had pissed off our little raven headed cadet would be an understatement. She was LIVID! After giving him a good kick in the family jewels and shoving his face into the ground, shouting "SIT!", she declared that she'd become the first female ever to join the mysterious group, after all, if she could keep up with a demon who was there to question her?

Crossing the finish line, panting and glowing with sweat, they began arguing about who came in first.

"There's no way wench! My foot crossed the line first end of story!"

Eyebrow twitching and vein throbbing Kagome shot him a look that had him backing up a little, "Wench?! What did I tell you about calling me that!? I should win just for your foul mouth!"

After recovering the officer began anew arguing with the *NCO, remaining completely oblivious to the many exasperated but amused eyes watching the spectacle.

"They're at it again I see." came the entertained voice of one of the many cadets within the platoon. Turning, Sango spotted Ayame with a small smile resting upon her lips.

"Well it wouldn't be morning training without a squabble or two between the both of them now would it?" She answered while shaking her head with a grin of her own.

Ayame was a pretty wolf demon with bright red hair and forest green eyes. Because of all the running that the wolf tribes do she sported a pair of killer legs and a tiny but well muscled body. She was also a major flirt, attacking any good looking male she could get her hands on. She joined the Army at the same time as Sango and Kagome so they became close friends over the years.

"So how is it going to turn out this time? Think she'll let him win or is he going to get a face full of dirt again?" The red headed demon questioned with a mischievous light shining in her bright eyes.

Gaining the same look in her gaze as the woman standing next to her, Sango's smile turned into a full blown smirk.

"20 bucks says he eats dirt" the brunette replied.

"You're on!"shouted the other female.

Not even 2 minutes later Inuyasha was face first on the ground and Kagome was making her way back over to the rest of her platoon who were laughing at the misfortune of their lieutenant.

Many might say that it's not the correct conduct for military personnel and that they were disrespecting their leader but that's just how they were. One big family. They could goof off and joke around but knew when to hold off on the rough housing and focus on the task at hand.

Clicking her tongue, the demon discreetly slid 20 dollars into the awaiting hand of the smiling slayer all the while mumbling words like "unfair" and "stupid slayer instincts".

Eventually pulling himself up off the ground and shaking the dirt out of his silver locks, Inuyasha glared at his chuckling comrades before calling everyone to fall in and proceeding with the days announcements.

"As you all know Sergeant First Class Higurashi and I will be leaving soon to head out for the SPOK training and qualification course. " there were many "Huah!" and "Congrats!" from the platoon causing the two recipients to smile.

Lessening the grin on his face to a boyish smile he continued to address his platoon. "At ease, at ease, now in our absence you will be assigned a new lieutenant and assistant NCO who you'll learn more about at today's group training and you will show them the same respect you've given us is that understood?"

A loud chorus of _"HUAH!"_ was heard before the lieutenant dismissed them all and they all went off in different directions in order to get ready for the day ahead.

Walking beside her two closest friends Kagome headed back to her room in order to start packing for her departure to the SPOK training facility. Once inside she began the grueling task of gathering all the essential items that she'll need for the 6 month qualification course.

" Really Gome? Heels and a cocktail dress? What in the world are you gunna need those for?" Asked Sango with a puzzled look on her face.

"A girl never knows when she'll need to use her best weapon in order to get what she wants!" She answered with a cheeky grin.

"What are you gunna do, seduce your way into the group?" Came from the bewildered red head.

"If that's what it takes to win the bet with Inuyasha then so be it!" was her reply while smiling in a predatory way.

Sighing both girls looked at each other then at their friend before shaking their heads. Of course this was all over a bet made between the two knuckleheads of their platoon, what else could it be? Those two were worse than siblings!

Finally finished with her packing she stretched out on her cot and took one last look at the room that had been her home for the better part of 4 years.

**_'It's time I finally did something with my life other than take orders. I'm ready to be part of something that will help save this world from the chaos that it's been plunged in for so long now.'_**

7 years ago an unknown group calling themselves KUMO attacked the capitols of China, Japan, Iraq, Iran, and many other eastern countries. Japan was the only one lucky enough to be able to fight back and force the invaders out of their country. Not long after the initial attack the other countries began to slowly fall and crumble beneath the power of the organization. Ever since then Japan has been at the front lines against the oppression of the group along with the countries of Eastern Europe. One year after the event that changed the way people went about their daily lives the remaining countries decided to come together and form one large front against the opposing force which is how the United Nations Military came to be. All the countries pooling their militaries together to form the largest armed forces group to ever exist.

At the time when the war had just begun , Kagome was still in high school. Certain events after the first attack prompted her to join her school's ROTC program and, eventually, enlist in the Army. At first, the only person that could get her to say anything was Inuyasha but eventually she opened up to the others. Every now and then though people will catch a glimpse of that silent solider that she had been before Sango and Ayame completely broke her out of her shell. To this day though she continues to have nightmares about that horrid day.

**"You...you're...you're supposed to be dead..."**

Shaking her head to rid herself of the depressing thoughts that were threatening to surface she sat up and pumped her fist into the air.

"Yosh! I'm ready to take on the impossible . I'll show him whose weak and fragile!" She finished with a big grin plastered on her face causing her two friends to laugh at the silly picture she made. Joining in on their laughter she just enjoyed their company for as long as she could.

When the clock struck 12:00pm the girls knew it was time for their friend to make her way to the bus that would take her away from them for 6 long months, even longer if she made it through the selection period. Gathering her things Kagome and the other women exited the room and proceeded to the front of the base.

Once there, they noticed Inuyasha along with 2 other cadets standing beside the curb, waiting for the bus that would bring them all to their new life for the next few months.

Noticing the girls coming up to him Inuyasha turned around to address them.

"What took you so long? Fixing your makeup for the Sergeants? Cause that's the only way you'll get accepted." He finished while shooting her a cocky smirk.

Showing him a sweet smile she asked in an innocent voice "Inuyasha do you like being a guy?"

Caught off guard the hanyo answered in a puzzled tone "Ya why?"

Making her smile and voice even more innocent she gave him a glare that froze him on the spot.

"We'll if you wanna stay one I suggest keeping that mouth of yours shut, if you catch my drift."

Eyes widening after realizing what she meant, he immediately backed away from her and hid behind Sango all the while furiously nodding his head.

Satisfied that she got her point across she made her way over to the other cadets that were waiting on the bus, watching as they continued to chuckle at the lieutenant that looked as though he'd just seen a ghost.

"Ya know, I was worried about a girl being selected for this course but after what I just saw I think you'll be able to handle yourself just fine." One of the men said and finished with a smirk which she gladly returned.

"The name's Sasuke Kuro, 3rd platoon." He said with a cheerful smile. Sasuke had light brown hair with strands of blonde here and there, warm brown eyes, and tanned skin. Standing at 5'11" he was pretty average but kind looking.

Turning the other man introduced himself.

"Ryuji Shiro, 1st platoon." Was his short reply.

He was the complete opposite of the cadet standing next to him. With black hair, lightly tanned skin, and eyes so dark they appeared to be black he made one intimidating figure. Being 6'1" probably helped with that too.

"Kagome Higurashi, 2nd platoon it's nice to meet you guys." She introduced herself.

"Ahem"

"Oh!" Turning around she saw both her friends looking a tad annoyed at being ignored for so long.

"Sorry I completely forgot you guys were there! These are my friends Sango", said girl inclined her head, "and Ayame", she waved at the two boys. "They came to see me off." Kagome finished off with a kind look directed towards her friends.

Sasuke happily replied with a "Hello!" While Ryuji just replied with a simple "Hi".

It didn't take them long to start a casual conversation with the two newcomers and by the time the bus arrived they all seemed to be getting along fairly well. Gathering all of their belongings they began to load the bus with Inuyasha rushing to get on first in order to stay away from Kagome, afraid she'd still follow through with her threat.

After the last of her luggage was loaded onto the bus the raven headed woman spun around to give her friends one last hug goodbye.

The first was Sango, giving her a crushing hug and telling her that she had better kick some serious ass while there and to "show those boys who's the boss!"

Lastly she turned to Ayame and received a firm hug in return from said girl and an order to send back as many pictures of "gorgeous, sweaty, and half naked men" as possible. Laughing at her friends antics and shaking her head she promised that she'd try.

Walking onto the large charter bus she gave one finale wave to her two friends before the doors closed behind her. Finally sitting down, the bus began its long journey to the SPOK training facility where her currently mellow life will forever be changed to one full of lies, secrets, and blood.

** Authors Note:**

***PT clothes: they're basically gym clothes for the military, a shirt and gym short**

***SPOK: in Latvian it means ghost**

***NCO: stands for Non-Commissioned Officer**

**So what do you think, any good? Yes? No? I know it was pretty long and not much action but I had to get a base for the story to build upon and in the end it turned out to be much longer than I expected.**

**Anyways I'd love to know your opinions on this, should I continue it? R&R plzzzzzz :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas created by the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi**

"this"** means someone's speaking**

_**'this'** _**is someone's thoughts**

**"this" is something that happened in the past**

**Recently just revised this so if you've already read this chapter ya might wanna do so again.**

**$&^%*&^$&#^$&^%(*&%**

"Hey Higurashi get up we're here."

Groggily, Kagome opened her eyes to see Sasuke looking down at her with a small smile.

Returning the warm gesture with one of her own and replying with a soft "thanks" she stretched her arms above her head before glancing out the window to peer at her new home for the next 6 months or so.

The compound was surrounded by a large metal fence, at least 6feet in height, and contained a barracks, a training course, a large building that seemed to be the main headquarters of SPOK, and vast amounts of land that looked as though it stretched out into eternity.

As she made her way off the comfortable bus she also spotted a few cadets every now and then running across the base and others starting their afternoon training sessions.

To say she wasn't nervous would be a lie. There were applicants from all over the world here, all aspiring to earn that treasured patch that recognized you as one of the elites. Ever since she'd set foot onto the yard all eyes were on her. A few she could hear whispering, all wondering what a female was doing at the elite facility, while others were being just downright nasty, saying things like "Looks like they hired some entertainment for us!", or, "Bitch won't last a week." Having so much attention centered on her, mostly not in a good way, really started to rock the confidence she had not hours before she arrived. For the first time she began to rethink her decision of coming here to try to get into the high ranked group.

Just when she was about to let her worry show, her hand bumped into a small old fang hanging from her bag by a tiny chain. Looking down at the charm she remembered the night that all the girls from her platoon, and some from the others, had thrown her a surprise party to congratulate her on becoming the first female accepted into the SPOK course. At the time only Inuyasha, Ayame, and Sango had known about her acceptance so it still remains a mystery as to how they all found out, though Ayame randomly asking about her likes and dislikes gave her a pretty good idea.

**Throughout the night there was lots of laughter and congrats in the air. Every few minutes or so people would come up to her telling her how amazing what she did is and to show everyone that "Women run the world!", once and for all.**

**Towards the end of the night Sango had come up to her holding a small box. Upon handing it over Kagome had looked at it, puzzled as to why she got it, and after opening the gift found a small fang no larger than her pinky finger.**

**"It's a good luck charm."**

**Turning surprised eyes onto the brunette Kagome had taken another look at the trinket. Noticing a small symbol engraved into the tooth as well as needle sized holes she turned questioning eyes to Sango.**

**Gracing her with a secretive smile, Sango had cryptically replied"All you need to know is if you're ever in trouble just blow on the end and help will come."**

Glossing her thumb over the tiny inscription that read "FIRE" a soft expression made its way onto her nervous face.

Having recalled all of the support that her fellow peers had showered her with, Kagome flushed the indecisive thoughts from her mind and, lifting her head high, made her way through the crowd of degrading men to the area where they were to meet their instructors for the next couple of months.

Upon reaching her destination the young woman spotted a mass of silver hair and immediately formed a sly grin on her soft pink lips. Passing through groups of young men she slowly stalked up behind the unsuspecting hanyo.

**#$*&^$^*&^%*^#*&^%%**

**_'Damn that chick's scary when she wants to be.'_**

The whole ride Inuyasha had been looking over his shoulder to continuously assure himself that his the raven headed *SFC was still peacefully sleeping...and not anywhere near him. He'd seen firsthand what could happen when she was angered and did not want to be on the receiving end of it.

Some may call him a coward for being scared of his second in command but they'd never seen her when she was truly pissed. He'd only seen it once himself and never wanted to again.

**It was a couple months after the first invasions and her joining the ROTC program when one of the cadets in their class had set her off. To this day no one knows what the other student had said to her but for the ones that were there, they all remember the heavy and oppressive feeling that overcame their room, sending a cold shiver up the spines of even the toughest guys. The male was either unaware of the overbearing aura or just ignored it for he continued to taunt her till she completely snapped. Faster than they thought she could move Kagome had stood up from her seat and grabbed the young man by his lanky neck, throwing him to the hard tiled ground, and began depriving the boy of his much needed oxygen. Luckily a few guys had pulled her off before any real harm could be done but from then on they remained wary around her. Unlike everyone else who were focused on the male gulping for air, Inuyasha had turned his golden gaze towards the angered female. It was upon further inspection of her that he noticed the angry but hollow look in her eyes that should never have been on the face of a 15 year old freshman. He decided then and there that he would get to know her and work towards the hard won friendship that they have today.**

Coming back to the present Inuyasha began to scan through the mass of military personnel gathered at the meeting point,** _'Keh, they don't seem so tough. I bet I could take all of 'em!'_**

While he continued to gloat to himself the oblivious hanyo never noticed the only female of the class slowly making her way up behind him until it was too late.

After a few moments to ready herself the petite woman struck. In one quick movement her leg struck out, sweeping her lieutenant's feet out from under him.

"What the-!"

Crashing to the ground all eyes turned to look at the pair, one face first on the ground, the other laughing hysterically and barely holding herself up.

Springing up from the ground the half demon quickly spun to face his attacker. "Fuck! What was that for Kagome?!"

Unable to keep her laughter at a minimal her answer came out in an indecipherable group of words. "You (giggle)...fell (laugh)...oldest(snort)...Baka~(chuckle)."

Eyebrow rapidly twitching Inuyasha stalked up to her cracking his knuckles and glaring ferociously. "That's it now you've done it! I'll get you for that!"

As they were making their way towards each other a monotone voice as cold as a blizzard rang out above all the other chatter.

"And just _what_ are you two doing."

***%#&^%(&^$(%$*&^)*(%**

As soon as he'd woke up this morning Toga ( a.k.a. Inu no Taisho) had felt a sense of dread creeping up on him.

He'd been on edge all day and it was starting to show in his actions. The reason for this was his oldest son, Sesshomaru. Starting today he will become a substitute instructor for the incoming class of SPOK hopefuls. You're probably thinking it can't be that bad, right? Obviously you've never met the man then cause if you had you'd understand the General's apprehension.

Sure, he was one of the best cadets that their unit had seen, a prodigy even, but he also has some major issues as well.

**_'He's a block of ice with a stick up his ass for one.'_**

Letting out a defeated sigh the leader of the United Nations Army steeled himself and awaited the arrival of his son.

A few minutes later two strong knocks were heard on his office door and with a quick "enter" the dark mahogany doors were pushed open to reveal what some would call a Kami on earth.

Standing at around 6'3" with the build of an athlete, the man had calf-length silver hair that when hit by the sun almost appeared white. His pale porcelain skin was covered by a SPOK *Class A uniform but on his face you could see the proof of his demon heritage. Upon each cheek were 2 magenta stripes and, on his forehead, a deep blue crescent moon. The most captivating feature on this man though we're his molten gold eyes that seemed to draw everything in.

After entering and saluting to the general, the officer sat down in the offered chair in order to begin their discussion.

Pouting, the commander of the military looks at his son with big puppy dog eyes. "Hey Sesshomaru it's been a while since we last talked you never come to see me anymore. "

Closing his eyes and touching one claw to the side of his forehead Sesshomaru let out a small sigh. "If everyone knew that this is how you really act they would have never picked you for this position ."

Plastering a fake look of offense on his face Toga give his son a hurt but amused look.

"Now why would I act like this in front of all those geezers? This way you and Inuyasha get to have me all to yourselves!" He finished with a large smile across his face.

"Do not mention me and that half breed in the same sentence."

Giving the man across from him an exhausted look Toga just shook his head. "Fine fine, enough fun and games, let's talk about the real reason that your here shall we?"

Interest finally peaked the inuyokai straightened up in his seat and waited for the general to begin.

Noticing that he had caught his son's attention Toga began.

"As you are aware our new recruits are coming in today and the qualification course will begin. You were selected as a substitute for one of the instructors that had to take a leave of absence and as such will be training and monitoring the cadets."

He paused to make sure that Sesshomaru was keeping up and, upon confirming it, continued.

"This group is going to be a bit...different...from the previous years, seeing as though we have our first female applicant coming in with this class."

Noticing the slight narrowing of his eyes Toga waited to continue in order to allow the officer to ask about what was on his mind.

"Is that wise?"

Giving his son a puzzled look Sesshomaru elaborated. "There are some 200 men on this compound not including the 200 or so cadets of the incoming class."

Finally catching what his son was getting at the Five Star General nodded his head in understanding. "It's already been taken care of. She will be staying in a separate tent and use a different locker room but there will be certain times where she won't be able to be separated from the men or watched and that's where you'll come in."

Noticing the slight downturn of the other male's lips and that he was about to protest Toga held up his hand to silence him.

"I know it's not the most ideal job but there's no one else that can do it and not get detected. After reading her file I believe that Cadet Higurashi would refuse the help if she ever found out about it; she needs a silent observer and let's be honest here, you're the best at both of those things."

Even after seeing the logic in what his father had said Sesshomaru still did not feel very inclined to follow that order.

"Surely the female can look after herself if she made it this far. I doubt she needs a babysitter and I have no desire to become one."

Losing that fatherly glow on his face Toga's expression transformed into that of a battle hardened leader, "Your desires do not matter concerning this issue pup, you will guard her weather you like it or not and that's an order."

Sending a scowl in his father's (and superior's) direction, the general's son realized how futile it would be to continue arguing and gave up on protesting. Standing from his formerly seated position, Sesshomaru looked to Toga with his ever emotionless face, "If that is all, it is time that this Sesshomaru headed over to the training grounds to meet the new recruits." and with small nod of his head exited out of the office.

Once the door closed the general let out a heavy sigh and not so gently put his head on the desk.

'May the Kami bless that girl for she's going need all the luck she can get.'

**$*^%#*&^%(^&$*&^(*&**

"I believe I asked you two a question"

Looking over to where the voice had come from the two friends noticed a tall silver haired man in an officer's uniform.

**'Wow he's...beautiful.'**

**'Well shit it just **_**had**_** to be him.'**

As he continued walking towards them the two straightened up and stood at attention along with the rest of the cadets.

"My patience is wearing thin."

Suddenly realizing that they still hadn't answered him Kagome stepped forward in order to explain what had happened. "It was my fault Sir I was the one that provoked him."

Turning his head to fully look at the cadet Sesshomaru realized that this was the girl.

**'So this is who I have to babysit. Hn.'**

Remaining silent for a few minutes the Officer allowed her to squirm before finally speaking. "I hope that this won't become a regular occurrence, we don't need you jumping every guy you see."

Realizing just what it is he meant by that a look of rage spread across her previously apologetic face. Just as she was about to argue back Inuyasha cut in.

"It won't happen again."

Sliding his cold gaze onto the dog eared hanyo, Sesshomaru locked eyes with him for a few seconds before uttering a small "Hn" and proceeding to where the other instructors were inside the structure.

As the inuyokai was walking away Kagome glared daggers into his back all the while thinking of every insult she'd ever learned from Inuyasha.

**_'That pompous ass, holier than thou, arrogant, girly looking BASTARD! Just cause I'm the only girl doesn't mean that I'm gunna try to sleep with every guy here!'_**

Noticing his friend's clenched fists and where her gaze was directed Inuyasha gave a mental groan and small shake of his head.

**_'You just had to piss her off didn't you, ya prick.'_**

**&%$ *&^%$*^%#^)(*^%**

Not long after their little interruption a Cadet from the compound came and told them all that he was to escort them to the training area. He first led them to a small room where they were all instructed to change out of their clothes and into a uniform that had been supplied. Having been given a separate space from the men to change in Kagome left with the cadet so he could bring her to her room. When she was done getting out of her own clothes and slipping on the new outfit the female cadet walked over to a mirror and inspected the new uniform.

It consisted of a pair of loose black cargo pants, a black tank-top, black combat boots, and a utility belt. There was also a pistol attached to the belt and combat knife with the holster strapped to her thigh. After tying up her hair and deeming herself ready she left the room and joined the rest of her class as they waited for everyone to finish.

Once everyone had gathered they began walking through the large building. As they were following the cadet they passed many closed doors and empty hallways, almost as if the place was abandoned. The building was completely void of any sounds except for that of the recruit's feet as they made their way to large door at the end of the hallway.

Upon passing through the doors the cadets were ushered into a gigantic, dark room that appeared to be several stories high and wide enough to fit a few houses in it. Pretty soon confusion began to settle over the recruits.

Sharing a glance with Inuyasha they began to try to find out what was going on. They'd both heard the rumors of how rigorous their qualification course was and all of this walking around and ease was starting to get to them.

Looking around to see if she could spot anything, the raven haired recruit began concentrating on anything that seemed to be out of place. **_'This just doesn't feel right, something's going to happen.'_**

Unaware of it, her dog eared friend was thinking along the same lines. **_'This is way too simple Sesshomaru only had 2 other people left in his class by the time the course was done.'_**

About 2 minutes later when all the recruits had entered the room the doors leading out suddenly slid shut with a loud bang, locking the recruits inside. All heads turned to the doors when they heard them shut. Some began to panic while others started looking around, waiting for something to pop out at them.

A couple seconds later one of the panels a few floors high on the wall became transparent, revealing the instructors as well as Inu no Taisho himself. Standing from his seated position Toga made his way up to the glass window.

"Welcome Cadets to the SPOK qualification course. As you may know I am Toga Taisho, also known as Inu no Taisho and I am in charge of the SPOK compound. Now, you may have been guessing as to why we had you change into something a little different than your normal PT uniforms and the answer is simple: your first test."

After hearing this a low murmur encompassed the group of cadets. Everyone had a different reaction, from silent anticipation to slight panic. After seeing this Toga let a small predatory smirk rest upon his lips.

"For today's test we will be playing a friendly little game of man hunt except instead of teams its every man for themselves. You will have 1 hour to complete this test. The last people standing who have the most points will win and here's a little piece of advice: it pays to win. Everything you need will be in your utility belt and just to be safe we have a few rules."

"First, you will acquire points by hitting the targets that will appear on your shirts."

After he said this the recruits looked down as targets lit up on everyone shirts, one on the front and one on the back.

"Second, you may acquire these points however you deem necessary. Third, no killing is allowed, that is, unless in dire circumstances."

As soon as he said this a few of the men gained a crazy look in their eyes, anticipating all the blood that would be spilt. Others looked ready to bolt, one even had a hollow, frightened look on his face.

Not even moments later the ceiling of the room also became transparent and above them in bleachers sat the members of the special forces group SPOK, all cheering and placing bets on who they think would come out on top in this year's game. Then the room around the cadets began to change and, when it was done, form into a large landscape of raging rivers, sheer cliffs, and thick forests.

The recruits had never seen anything like it before. As with everything else though, while others were panicking and planning Kagome and Inuyasha decided to have a little fun.

"Wanna make a bet out of this *Serg?"

Turning to her dog-eared companion, Kagome pondered his request before shooting him a small grin. "Fine, I say that by the end of this little game I'll have more points then you Yasha."

Rolling his eyes and scoffing the hanyo gave the petite female a condescending look. "Ya right you heard what the dude said, MANHUNT, meaning a _MAN'S_ game. You won't get more then 10 points, tops.

Gaining her own look of confidence Kagome retorted right back, "Oh you just wait, I'll get one of the highest scores out of everyone Inubaka~."

Giving his friend a flat look Inuyasha simply replied, "Uh huh sure you will, anyway what are we betting...the usual?"

"Sounds good to me." She answered while nodding her head.

Having established the terms of their little competition the two recruits turned to once again face the small room that housed their proctors and the General.

"Now", began Toga "Let the hunt begin and cadets: Welcome to Hell."

**Authors Note:**

***Serg- its short for Sergeant which is Kagome's title **

**That's it for now! Like always I would love to hear what you all think about it so far so plz review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the late update there was a lot going on this week that distracted me but i got it done! **

**A big thanks to everyone who reviewed and read this fanfic I hope to hear your opinions about it soon. ;)**

**And without further ado let the story continue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas created by the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi**

**"this" means someone's speaking**

_'this' _**is someone's thoughts**

"this"** is something that happened in the past**

**Recently just revised this so if you've already read this chapter ya might wanna do so again.**

**"Now", began Toga "Let the hunt begin and cadets: Welcome to Hell."**

**Not long after those ominous words left the mouth of the smiling general did all hell break loose. **

**Some fled off into the thick brush and unforgiving landscape but most stayed behind, attempting to gain as many points as quickly as they could. Like with every contest or game though, there were those that were only there for the violence and bloodshed.**

**Not even 5 minutes into the game and men were already being pulled out of the arena sporting major injuries that seemed to be continuously draining that vital red liquid of life, ending their journey in becoming SPOK members. **

**You could hear the excited voices of the members that were sitting above them as they rallied for their favorite recruits, cheering when they bested their opponents and becoming frustrated when they lost. **

**It was around this time that alliances started forming, working together to hunt down the harder opponents or the ones that stood out. Unfortunetly, seeing as she was the only female there, she was one of the standouts. **

_'Avoid detection, get to the high ground, and observe the opponents. Then...attack.'_

**Along the way to finding the most advantageous ground she took out a couple cadets that had gotten in her way, giving her points that will be needed in order to succeed in this trial. **

**Upon finding a tall tree with thick branches and leaves that were good for cover she scaled the trunk and made her way to the highest branch that she could reach while still being able to observe the recruits scrambling about below her. **

_'Time to start using all that training I learned over these 4 years.'_

**Adjusting herself to sit in a more secure position she took the pistol filled with paintballs and waited for anyone to pass under her. As soon as the first group came near her hiding place she let loose a volley of shots, all hitting their intended targets.**

_'It's good to see that my shooting is still as good as ever. I didn't get the sharpshooter award for nothing.'_

**After letting loose her rounds our black clothed cadet climbed to a different position in the tree so as not to be seen by the now paint covered men below her.**

**Repeating the same actions with 2 more groups that passed by Kagome finally decided to move her position in order to stay hidden and not become detected. **

**Once the coast was clear she shimmied down the large tree and, upon reaching the base, silently made her way through the unpredictable battleground, unaware of the silent companion that had been following her since the start of the test.**

**Unknown to the currently occupied recruits, the instructors, as well as the SPOK members, were watching a large screen showing some of the fights that were going on as we'll as everyone's ranking with those with the most points at the top and the least at the bottom.**

**Catching sight of a man with a long brown ponytail out of the corner of his eye one of the SPOK members turned to call out to him.**

**"Hey Koga what took you so long? You're missing all the action!"**

**Turning his head, the man now identified as Koga made his way over to the one that called out to him.**

**Koga was a wolf demon with golden tan skin, rich dark brown hair, and sky blue eyes. He stood at 6'1" and had the build of a runner, though with his heritage it wasn't hard to figure out where he got it from.**

**With a huff he plopped down in the seat next to his friend and began observing the arena below them. "What action, huh Ginta? Doesn't seem to be much going on now, guess I missed the free for all in the beginning."**

**Used to his friend's apathetic attitude towards things that didn't interest him he just rolled his eyes before speaking. "Ah but that's where you're wrong! There's been an interesting addition to the recruits this year, we have a girl participating for the first time!"**

**Now that had caught his attention.**

**Sliding his eyes from the arena below to the screen hanging above them he scanned the list of cadets still in the game until he came across what he was looking for.**

_'Kagome Higurashi. Interesting...never even heard of a female that wanted to join before, much less actually get accepted. She must have some great connections or be pretty damn amazing.'_

**Continuing his perusal of her icon on the screen he also noted her ranking among her fellow "players". "The hell-? Not even 20 minutes into this and she's in the top 20?! What is this woman...must be a man in disguise."**

**After uttering this the wolf began conjuring different images of how the girl would look. **_'Probably more ape than human. Might even have muscles bigger than a dude, now that's just wrong.'_

**A few minutes later the wolf was shook out of his thoughts by the loud cheering of the members as they began watching a new fight unfold between the recruits. This one however seemed to garner more attention than the others had. **

**Curiosity peaked, Koga looked up and noticed the names of the opponents on the screen, one being the name of the female that had caught his attention. Wondering just how manly this supposed female looked he was completely speechless when he fixed his gaze on the actual fight and caught a glimpse of what the so called "Ape Woman" looked like.**

**Letting out an impressed whistle, Ginta continued to stare at the beauty being broadcast on the large TV. "Now that's what I call a woman."**

**And Koga couldn't agree more. With sleek, long, ebony hair, eyes that were a bright blue but had a depth to them at the same time, sun kissed skin, and curves that could kill, she was a sight to behold.**

_'Forget apes and muscle women, she's perfect!'_

**Now fully focused on the female and the scene unfolding on the screen, he finally noticed the large group of men surrounding her and slowly stalking closer.**

_'Enough ogling, time to see if she has what it takes to be in this group...I can look some more later.'_

**As the fight commenced all eyes strayed to the large television, curious to see just what this woman was capable of that got her into this group of recruits.**

_'Damnit! I should have paid more attention to my surroundings!' _

**Dodging another paintball fired off by one of the men that had ambushed her, she jumped behind one of the nearby trees and let loose one of her own rounds, successfully hitting one of the men square in the chest, making him pause for a few seconds. **

**Those couple moments were all she needed as Kagome swiftly moved from her shelter and ran up to the man she'd just shot, effectively shocking him, before chopping her hand on the base of his neck, knocking him out cold.**

_'One down, three more to go.'_

**Turning to face her other opponents she barely had time to move out of the way of a good sized rock that was aimed at her head. Missing the center of her skull by mere inches, it grazed her left cheek leaving a long, shallow cut running across her cheek bone.**

**"I'm sorry did I injure the little girl? My bad."**

**Looking directly at the one who had spoken, Kagome scowled in his direction after seeing the cocky smirk plastered across his face.**

**Keeping the irritated frown firmly on her features the female cadet merely stared at the overconfident man and his allies before letting a mocking smile spread across her plump lips.**

**"Seeing as how your aim is so bad I was barely even grazed, how disappointing."**

**Noticing the irritated tick forming under his left eye and the slight downturn of the male's thin lips she kept pushing.**

**"And you call yourself a soldier, even a "little girl" was able to dodge your weak attack."**

**"You better shut your trap." The man tersely replied**

**"Aw, did I injure the little boy's pride?" And, realizing that he was at the edge of his patience, dealt the final blow.**

**"**_**My bad**_**."**

**Anger fueling his actions, the male recruit charged her head on without thinking, giving Kagome an easy target. Sending a sharp kick to the back of his knees the irate man fell to the ground before swiftly being knocked out with a well aimed punch to the side of his head. Once he hit the floor, out cold, the raven headed cadet took out her pistol and shot one paint filled projectile at the center of the target resting in the middle of his chest.**

**All was silent for a moment as everyone stood still. **

**Finally regaining their senses the remaining two split off in opposite directions in order to attack her from both sides.**

**Seeing through their strategy she crouched low and waited, keeping her sharp eyes trained on both of them and patiently awaited their attack.**

**In a matter of seconds the two had got to her sides and each thrown a kick her way, one aimed at her head, the other her legs.**

**Thinking fast, she dove to the ground, successfully avoiding their blows, and rolled before popping back up into a fighting stance she'd been taught during Basic*.**

**Ducking under a series of punches and kicks sent her way, the young woman responded with her own combination of endless jabs and, catching one of the men off guard, threw a right cross, effectively knocking him down before swinging her leg out making her foot collide with the back of his skull.**

**Turning to face the last recruit left of the now asleep group Kagome gave him a condescending look.**

**"And then there was one." **

**Looking around the remaining man couldn't understand what had happened. A look of disbelief crossed his dirtied and bruised face. **_'She's just a chick, how the hell did she take out a whole group of us so quickly?!'_** Still a strong believer in the old status quo that men were the strong ones and all women were good for were housework and having a "**_**good time**_**" with, it just wouldn't register that a female had bested all of them.**

**Watching her take a step towards him the last of the allies began to panic. "What the hell are you huh? Some type of **_**demon**_**?", and seeing her pause in her movements and begin chuckling he became even more hysterical.**

**"Wha-what's so funny, huh wench?!"**

**Suddenly the atmosphere got tense and the male recruit finally registered the glare that was being shot his way by the now silent female.**

**Still staring down the man in front of her Kagome muttered a quiet "What did you call me?", waiting to see if he'd be stupid enough to call her that again.**

**Having not learned from past mistakes made, the male took a page out of one of his allies' book and, thinking that he was going to turn the tables, started pushing her buttons.**

**"You heard what I said you fucking wench, you as deaf as ya are dumb?" Seeing that she hadn't replied to his taunts and that her head was tilted down so that her fringe was covering her eyes, the oblivious male continued to insult her in hopes of the dangerous female losing her cool and attacking recklessly. "I wonder how you even got into this course...what'd you do, sleep with the proctors you **_**slut**_**?"**

**Finally having heard enough, faster than the eye could see, Kagome pulled her hunting knife from its holster at the side of her leg and threw it full force at the foul mouthed man, hitting him on the left side of his abdominals, causing the razor sharp blade to sink deeply into the soft flesh. **

**The male fell to his knees and let a pain-filled scream rip from his throat. **

**Seeing this, all the member of SPOK were speechless. Who knew such a beautiful girl could be so ruthless? **

**The crowd above the arena sat in silence before many began placing bets on the only female in the class of recruits. After watching her display of skill many that had doubted her began to have a change of heart some believing that she would become a great asset to the elite force while others wanted to get the chance to go against her. Still though, there were those that refused to except the a female might make it into their previously exclusive, male only group.**

**Meanwhile in the instructors box they were all sitting there with shocked faces, more so the ones that had interviewed the woman for her chance to go through this course, even more specifically Toga himself.**

_'What happened to the sweet but fiercely determined and dedicated girl that I met a few weeks ago? Was it all just an act?'_

**Sesshomaru was also surprised by the woman and how bloodthirsty she could be when angered. **

**Looking towards his father with one slim silver brow raised, he questioned in a firm voice "This is the one you believed in need of looking after? Seems like she can handle herself just fine to me."**

**Tearing his eyes from the scene displayed in the screen before him Toga gave his son a wide eyed look before closing them, thinking over his earlier decision. Finally coming to a conclusion he reopened them and gave the silver haired male a stern look. "So it does..." turning his head back in the direction of the recruits he continued "but I still stand by what I said earlier, if she makes it through this trial, stay close. Just because she can defend herself doesn't mean she'll be able to in every situation."**

**Miffed that he was still trapped in the role of babysitter, Sesshomaru allowed a small scowl to form on his usually emotionless face, mentally cursing the Kami, hoping that she would fail.**

**Staring unfeelingly at the writhing man on the ground Kagome gradually made her way over to him. Keeping a foot between them the assailant continued to look at him with empty eyes. Leaning down she wrapped one of her delicate looking hands around the handle of the blade and, painstakingly slow, pulled it out of the screaming male. **

**Staying crouched over the injured man the blue eyed solider raised the hand with the knife and the injured male, thinking that she was going to stab him again, closed his eyes waiting for the pain that would come. After a couple of seconds of not feeling any sharp stabs he cracked an eye open only to see her holding the tip of the blade to the center of the target on his chest. Shooting her a questioning gaze she merely scoffed before standing up.**

**"Do you really think me so heartless as to kill you over insulting me? I've got better things to do with my time and besides, it's against the rules."**

**Turning from the shocked look that he was giving her Kagome made her way over to the other cadet that she had knocked out earlier and, placing the tip of the knife to the target on his back, gathered her much needed points. Having retrieved what she needed from her opponents she used her tank top to wipe the fresh blood from the blade before placing it back in its proper place. Giving one last look to the unconscious bodies behind her she made her way from the clearing and back into the thick brush, disappearing into the shadows.**

**Waiting till the dangerous woman had gone a good distance from the area, the man that had been following her walked out from his hiding place to stand in front of the stabbed cadet.**

**"Ah such poor unlucky fellows you are to have a run in with the Lady."**

**Slowly lifting his head, the sluggishly bleeding recruit looked at the newcomer with wary eyes. "And who are you supposed to be?"**

**Placing a fake look of confusion on his face, the mysterious man simply held his right hand over his heart and, with an all to innocent voice, replied to the suspicious inquiry.**

**"Why whatever do you mean? I'm merely just a regular cadet trying to make it into the famous elite group just like everyone else here!"**

**Not buying his little act, the man on the ground narrowed his eyes in his direction thinking that the man before him looked familiar.**

**"What's your name." **

**Smiling, the innocent looking male answered in a calm and questioning voice. "Ah what's in a name anyways? Besides, you're not going to be awake long enough to remember it."**

**Puzzled by what the man had said he never saw the kick aimed at his head coming and by the time it had registered that he'd been hit the man was out like a light. **

**Dropping the smile from his face the enigmatic male simply took a few moments to look at the man lying on the floor before giving an exasperated sigh. **

**"I can see that her temper is still as explosive as ever."**

**Reaching for the pistol resting at his side the unknown man took it from its holster and slapped a mischievous grin upon his face.**

**"Ok! Might as well get some free points while I'm here no? It'd be a tragedy to waste someone else's hard work now wouldn't it?"**

**A mystery man following her around huh, wonder who it could be? (Smiles secretively)**

**Sorry if the action scenes weren't up to snuff (this is my first fanfic ya know)**

**Anyways I hope y'all liked the chapter it took me a bit longer than the others to write but I'll definitely try to get another out within the next week or so!**

**As always R&R! I love to hear what you guys have to say about the story so far as we'll as your suggestions :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I know I know it's been a while since I've updated this I'm really**_** REALLY**_** sorry! But that's what happens when life decides to throw a million things at you all at once. Just so you know I've been looking through my previous chapters and decided that some of it needed some work so there's been a few ( and probably more later on ) slight changes, nothing major, just trying to give a better description of the image I have in my head.**

**Since it's been a good month or I decided to give you guys an extra long chapter! So here's chapter 4 enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas created by the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi**

"this"** means someone's speaking**

_**'this'** _**is someone's thoughts**

**"this" is something that happened in the past**

** ^$# ^%$ ^&% ^$# ^**

"Attention recruits this is your 10 minute warning"

Hearing this the remaining cadets began to frantically search for the other participants in order to gather all the points they could within the amount of time they had left. Since they didn't know how the instructors were basing their pass or fail grades everyone was giving their all in order for them to continue with the course and get through this first test.

Noticing the slight desperation that some of the men were showing, Kagome decided to hide herself from the panicking, hectic males and wait till the clock ran out. People were unpredictable when cornered or pressured and she'd rather not get into any unnecessary fights and be injured, it would only make completing the qualification course that much more difficult.

Finding a secluded area thick with tall trees and brush, the only female of the test found an abnormally large tree with roots that formed a sort of wooden cage at its base. After a quick inspection and survey of the area she found an opening big enough for her to slip through but the roots would still mask her figure from sight.

Settling into a comfortable position, Kagome grabbed her pistol and placed it in her lap for easy access, just in case someone did find her and she had to fight back. Listening for any noises that would indicate the presence of someone in the clearing, she kept her body tense and ready to spring into action.

After a minute of hearing nothing the exhaustion of the past hour's activities finally started to settle in so Kagome decided it would be ok to close her eyes for a bit, but still stay alert.

While waiting for the instructors to announce the end of the test, the raven haired female began thinking of all the people that she'd shot and hit with her knife during this trial and started tallying them up in order to see just how many points she had.

**_'Let's see...those first three groups, the three idiots from the ambush, the crazy tranny-'_**

Hearing a twig snap brought Kagome out of her musings and, upon snapping her eyes open, started scanning the area in order to find where the sound had originated from. Seeing a shadow pass by the base of the large tree and slowly get closer she lifted up her pistol and tensed her muscles, waiting for the right moment to spring forth from her shelter and surprise this new adversary. Holding her position for a few more seconds until the shadow was close enough, the female cadet took two slow, deep breaths before jumping out from the cover of the roots and aiming her gun at the unsuspecting perso-rabbit?

Letting out a breath that she'd been holding in, Kagome gave the fluffy, snow white bunny an exasperated look. "The heck- they even put animals in this arena? Guess they really strive for authenticity..."

The startled rabbit just stayed where it was when she first jumped out, staring at the intimidating human with wide, black, frightened eyes. Noticing the petrified bunny at her feet she crouched down to the grass covered ground and gave the animal a disarming smile.

"Sorry about that little guy I thought you were another participant", lifting her hand in the direction of the small animal she gained a soft look in her eyes, "there's no need to be afraid though, I won't hurt you."

Cautiously the pure white bunny inched its way over to her hand before delicately sniffing it in order to determine if she was truly a threat. Having deemed her safe the rabbit happily hopped into Kagome's arms and snuggled into the warmth that they provided.

She may have seemed calm and collected on the outside but mentally she was squealing over the cuteness of the furry little mammal. **_'How adorable! Ayame would be sooo jealous if she saw this right now.'_**

Out of nowhere a rich chuckling could be heard sounding as though it was coming from all around the small clearing. Popping her head up, Kagome observed the area but was unable to find where the voice originated from. Carefully, she placed the rabbit onto the hard ground and tensed up in anticipation of an attack.

.

.

.

.

.

"Over here"

Quickly spinning around Kagome raised her right leg and swung it down in a arc behind her but was only met with air.

Dropping back into a defensive stance she waited for the next sound that would alert her to the location of the elusive man.

Not even 5 seconds had passed before he made his next move. At first she had thought that it was just the grass brushing against her calves but after looking down, discovered that what she once thought was grass turned out to be vines slowly curling up around her legs. It was too late though for they had already encompassed both her feet completely, preventing her from moving around.

Just before the trapped woman attempted to free herself from the deep olive green vines a voice was heard to the left of her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Twisting her head sharply in the direction the voice had come from, causing her black locks to whip around behind her, Kagome's surprised, vibrant blue orbs locked with a pair of amused and shockingly green ones. Staying to the shadows, the man's almost glowing emerald eyes where the only thing that Kagome could see of him besides a faint outline of his body.

**_'Demon, and this one seems pretty strong too...well crap.'_**

Not giving it a second thought the immobilized female lifted her gun into the air and shot off three consecutive rounds towards the man in the shadows only to watch his image fade as soon as the projectiles came into contact with it.

Letting a deep frown settle on her face Kagome continued flicking her eyes all around the small area.** _'An illusion user as well, just my luck.'_**

Forgetting about the warning the demon had gave her earlier, she went to go lift her right foot from the ground but as soon as she started pulling up on the constricting plant long, barbed, and sharp thorns emerged out of it, biting into the strong calf muscles of the young woman's leg.

Buckling slightly from the wound, Kagome let a small pained moan escape from her grimacing lips. "Shit!"

Once again laughter could be heard coming from all directions of the tiny enclosed clearing causing a slight annoyance to begin building within the now injured woman. "Hahaha, are all humans really this stupid? I've warned every last one I came across yet they always do the exact opposite of what I tell them, how predictable can you all get?"

Being unable to move from her current position, Kagome decided to try a different tactic. "So what if we're predictable, at least we face our opponents head on instead of using cheap tricks. If youkai are _so_ much better why not show yourself."

"If that's what you want..." Seconds later a figure could be seen walking towards the immobilized female and out of the shadows. Once completely emerged Kagome had to take a second to fully appreciate the alluring male standing before her.

He stood around 6 foot with dark red orange hair pulled into a ponytail atop his head, sun tanned skin, and a strong, chiseled face. His forest colored eyes were hooded with a seductive smirk resting upon his slim lips and his arms were crossed in front of his broad chest. Sporting the same uniform as everyone else his five fluffy tails, the same color as his hair, where splayed out behind him causing a sort of fanning effect, the black of the uniform only making the bright color stand out even more.

Noticing the admiring look that the female before him was showing, the demon's small smirk turned into a full blown predatory smile. "Like what you see kitten?"

"Kitten?" Kagome questioned.

"Sure, you're as graceful as one and just as cute too." He replied while winking in her direction.

Feeling her annoyance increase even more she let her irritation show through her eyes. "Don't think you'll have your way just because of your looks, I'm not like most females and won't fall for it."

Gaining a bit of excitement from the challenge that she seemed to be presenting him with the man let a playful gleam enter his gaze. "Oh really...", and without warning he vanished from his spot 10 feet from her and suddenly appeared less than a foot in front of the surprised girl smiling in a way that showed off his sharp canines, "we'll just have to see about that won't we hm?"

** ^%$#&^$#&^%*%$*^**

Over the course of the test there had only been a few recruits that had even caught the young Daiyoukai 's interest. Many we're turning out to be soldiers who were above average but nowhere near the level required to enter into the notorious special forces group.

"Nothing but weaklings, these past few years haven't produced any results and I do not believe this group will be any different."

An older male on Sesshomaru's right gave the doubtful Inu a wise look. "Don't count them all out just yet boy, this is only the beginning, we haven't even seen half of what they can do yet."

Nodding Toga had to agree. "Hyousuke's right you know, it's the first day, we still have months to determine whether they're worthy or not."

"Hn."

Raising a dark eyebrow Toga looked at his son with a bored expression planted firmly on his young looking face.** _'If he continues with that kind of attitude I'll never get grand children...'_**

Ignoring the look given to him by his father Sesshomaru once again turned his attention to the screen broadcasting the last couple minutes of the test, all the while counting how many participants would be forcibly removed from the course due to injuries. In his opinion, the fewer left the better.

Scanning through the list of names in their ranked order the cold demon noticed that his ( _rather unwanted_ ) charge was currently engaged in battle. Using a special tablet provided to all the proctors of the qualification course he flipped through all the fights before finding the one he'd been searching for. Upon clicking the video feed for it, it enlarged enough to fill up the notebook sized screen.

**_'So the vixen meets the fox, interesting.'_**

With nothing else to do and little time left in the first trial, Sesshomaru decided to watch how things would turn out, wondering if the girl could possibly outsmart one of the most cunning demons there is.

** ^%$# &^$%#&^$#*^%$#**

After those words left the mouth of the red head a sudden fuzzy feeling began seeping into her mind and body, making it hard for her to concentrate on anything, especially the male before her.

**_'I can't...control my own movements'_**

Allowing a smug expression to settle across his face, the young fox walked closer to her, leaving mere inches between the two adults. "Let's have some fun shall we?", and without warning the handsome male closed the gap between them, sealing her full pink lips with his own.

When Kagome attempted to pull away the clouded feeling in her head became stronger, causing her to lose focus and momentarily forget what she was trying to do. Instead she unknowingly began responding to the forced kiss making the demon smile against her lips.

Regaining some semblance of normal thought the female soldier began recognizing just what was going on.** _'Dammit, he's draining all my energy! I need to think of a way out of this and fast before things go too far.'_**

While she was conjuring up a strategy the devious fox decided to up the ante and take things one step further. Sliding his hands down from her face he began slowly making his way down her smooth tanned arms and back up, caressing them the whole way before working his way down to her tiny waist.

The entire time he was laughing on the inside, **_'This is just too easy.'_**

**_'That's it I've got it!'_ **Ever so slowly, Kagome stopped resisting the attractive man and began responding to him innocently at first before making things much more heated, turning what was once unwanted affection into a full blown make out session, surprising the fox demon in the process.

Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the ginger haired male answered back just as zealously. Without him knowing it the fox had greatly eased up on whatever had been clouding Kagome's mind, giving her full control of herself once again. She continued with their little charade until she felt his hand start to creep up her shirt.

That's when she made her move.

Hastily unclipping her gun from its holster she swung it up and hit the side of his skull with the butt of the black pistol right as he broke away from her. Stumbling backwards, unfocused, the now pissed demon let a string of curses slip from his scowling lips. Not wanting to wait for him to regain his bearings Kagome quickly pulled out her knife, swiftly cutting through the vines constricting her feet, then took off towards him, raising her gun, and let loose three fast shots, two hitting the intended target and the other missing him by a hair. Feeling the sting of the paintballs as they hit the front of his chest the fox looked down to see two brightly colored blotches of paint covering his once unblemished uniform.

Becoming aware of the increasing tension within the small enclosure the dark haired woman watched silently as the paint covered man slowly rose from the slightly bent over position that he'd been in earlier. The amusement was still present in his gaze but underneath it you could see a simmering anger that was waiting for release.

Lacking hesitation Kagome went to fire off another round but found that she'd used up the last of her ammunition. Seeing this, the demon shot her a wide carnivorous smile and launched himself in her direction. Casting off the now useless hunk of metal and dropping to the cold ground, she barely dodged a nasty strike to her throat, instead gaining a deep cut to her upper left arm, courtesy of his razor sharp claws.

Not giving her time to recover the man grabbed his knife from the holster on his thigh and chucked it straight at the middle of her chest. Thinking fast Kagome raised her own combat knife and deflected the deadly weapon aimed at her vitals, though it still managed to clip the top of her other arm and form a small gash there as well.

**_'I can't keep this up much longer. Between the punctures on my leg and the slashes on my arms I'm losing too much blood.'_**

Falling to the harsh ground in a kneeling position with her hands placed firmly in front of her Kagome began to breath heavy due to over exerting her battered body.

Observing the woman that was barely staying upright the sneaky fox let a victorious look spread across his face as he made his way over to the struggling Kagome.

"I thought you'd at least put up more of a fight than that kitten. What happened to the feisty girl from earlier, she was much more fun to play with."

Still breathing heavily Kagome gave him a look that showed her dislike for the man above her.

"Oh well, all good things have to come to an end at some point." With those words said he brought his right hand up and to the left side of his body, straightening his hand in a way that his claws resembled the edge of a blade, before bringing it down sideways at the center of her torso. Just as he was inches away from his intended target Kagome's hand sprung up from the ground, intercepting the dangerous strike and, using his surprise, grabbed the same arm with her other hand before flipping him over her shoulder and onto the dirt covered earthen floor.

Once it registered what was happening to him and made a move to sit up the demon felt the cold metal of her knife pressed against his jugular, letting him know that she could end him whenever she felt like. Gazing up into calm blue eyes he noticed that her breathing was once again normal and she didn't appear as shaky as a few moments ago.

"Kitten indeed, cute and graceful but deadly and cunning. You even managed to trick a fox at his own game."

Conceding to let an amused smile filter over her features Kagome replied in a light hearted tone, "Is that a compliment coming from a fox? Guess beating you at your own game garnered a little respect huh?"

All of a sudden a loud horn was heard all throughout the large arena, signaling the end of the first of many tests that the remaining recruits would be undergoing.

Rising from her position atop the red headed male Kagome offered a hand to him which he gladly took. They both watched as the landscape around them started to fade and shift back into the large empty room they had entered an hour ago, revealing the rest of the cadets that were still standing as well as those that needed medical attention.

"You know I never did catch your name."

Happy that he'd asked, she gave him one of her kind smiles. "Kagome, Kagome Higurashi and you?"

Sliding amused eyes onto the human woman that had bested him the tailed man gave her a friendly smile. "It's Shippo, Shippo Kasai."

** ^%$ &%$#&^$#&%$#**

Later on, once all the badly injured had been either bandaged or taken away, a large screen popped up in the middle of the room. At the very top it was titled ranks and below a list of all the cadets were in order of how well they did during the "_game_", going from first place all the way to last.

Class Ranking ( Top 15 )

1. Ryuji Izo

2. Bankotsu Shichi

3. Steve Hawkins

4. Azizi Naasir

5. Shippo Kasai

6. Enrique Esteban

7. Renkotsu Shichi

8. Hiten Arashi

9. Jakotsu Shichi

10. Kagome Higurashi

11. Wolfgang Haas

12. Inuyasha Taisho

13. Miroku Hitoshi

14. Philippe Lafayette

15. Hoshiyomi

Surprised blue eyes stared up at the projection being displayed before the mass of recruits.**_ 'It's only been an hour into the first day and we're already down from 200 to 150 people.'_**

"Hey Kagome!"

Twisting around to face the gruff voice that she knew so well, the number 10 cadet watched as a silver headed male jogged across the dull gray floor until stopping after reaching her. A teasing smile settled upon her face once Inuyasha was standing in front of her. "So...looks like ill be collecting on that bet of ours right Mr..._Number 12._"

Showing the annoyance that was running through his mind while hearing that comment the lieutenant firmly planted his feet on the ground and crossed his strong arms over his chest, sending a low growl in Kagome's direction. "Whatever Gome, someone must've been counting wrong. No way are ya stronger than me."

Rolling her eyes at the predictable man, Kagome braced herself for the inevitable argument that would soon ensue. "Ya go ahead and tell that to the guys running this whole thing then, after they laugh at your immaturity, come and tell me how it went."

Gaining a slight tick in his eyebrow the hanyo continued to throw verbal jabs at the raven haired female. "Sarcasm's not cute on anyone, especially you."

Experiencing the same irritation that pops up during all their fights, Kagome raised a sculpted brow. "And what exactly is that suppose to mean, at least I can use sarcasm unlike a _certain_ idiot I know."

Glaring directly at her the half demon began walking closer to her."It means, ya she devil, that your more like a dude then a chick."

Kagome began to stalk up to him as well. "Well since you _dated_ this "dude" for a little over a year I guess that would make you _gay _now wouldn't it?"

Seeing the slightly horror stricken look that passed over his face at the mention of being gay **(AN: jsyk, I've got nothing against gay people, love them actually, so don't take any offense kay?) **Kagome allowed a mocking grin to be plastered onto her features.

Watching the teasing light in her eyes grow even brighter, the still emotionally disturbed man decided enough's enough. "Why I outta..." But before he could finish his sentences two tanned arms snaked around the body of Kagome and lifted her into the air.

"Wow down boy, down."

Angling her head to face her captor confused blue met laughing green. "Shippo!"

"The one and only. " he replied with a wide smile.

"Who the hell is this Kagome, another fan boy?" Asked the now confused Inu.

Focusing back on her long time friend the suspended woman decided to introduce the two to each other. "Oh where are my manners...Shippo this is Inuyasha, one of my closest friends. Inuyasha this is Shippo, we met during the test."

Both males were eyeing each other, one skeptically and the other in boredom, after Kagome's little introduction though Inuyasha was first to break eye contact. "Keh, aren't you a little young to be taking part in this fox brat?"

Keeping the innocent look firmly in place Shippo kept that look of boredom but with a minuscule smile pulling at his lips. "Aren't you a bit old to be here? Pretty soon you'll be needing someone to fetch your bone for you."

"You ginger headed punk, ya better take that back or I'll make you." Replied Inuyasha.

"Ok guys enough, why don't you just whip it out, measure, and be done with it." stated an annoyed Kagome. She'd had plenty of arguing for one day and it was still only 9:00 in the morning.

Shocked by the female before them the two finally calmed down and just throwing annoyed (in Inuyaha's case) and mocking (in Shippo's case) glances at each other every so often.

Five minutes after the end of the test a hidden door in the dull colored walls slid open revealing the proctors of the qualification class.

Once everyone had quieted down and the men had made their way to the front of the large group, Toga took a few steps forward from his original position next to his fellow instructors before addressing the mass of youngsters ahead of him, an amused smile pulling at his lips.

"Congratulations recruits for passing the our little warmup exercise, now, all of you that stand before me get to begin the qualification course."

Loud exclamations of surprise and outrage could be heard throughout the testing room over what the esteemed general just told them.

"A warm up? These people are crazy!"

"You mean we haven't even begun the course?!"

"..."

During the mild chaos Kagome decide to think a little more about what the head of the SPOK compound said. "So root out the ones that aren't even worth running through the course, how ruthless, it's efficient but still..."

Hearing what his dark haired friend said Inuyasha decided to share some of his own insight. "Well what did ya expect, it's the toughest group to get into, and for good reason, besides I'm sure you've heard of the rigorous training that people go through here."

Angling her head to face the dog eared male, she gave a short "yeah yeah I know" before Toga silenced the chatter around the room.

"Now it's time to split you off into your squads. As you may recall I did say that it pays to win, therefore, I will be putting you into squads of 10 and grouping you from the highest scores to the least. When your name is called step over to your instructor."

One by one the names of all the cadets were called by their instructor, the top ten being in the first group, numbers 11 through 20 in the next, etc. Having come out as one of the top performers during the "_warm up_" Kagome was placed in First Squad and just as luck would have it their instructor turned out to be none other than the silver haired male that had scolded her and Inuyasha earlier.

Her eyes became a darker tint of her normally bright blue, showing her displeasure**. **_**'Great just what I need, an arrogant jerk for our instructor.'** _

Seeing the not too happy look his new comrade's face was directing at the man that would be in charge of them Shippo decided to investigate. "Hey you got something against iron face up there?"

Coming back from her inner rant Kagome blinked a couple times to clear her head. "If basically calling me a slut in front of the other guys counts for anything then _ya_, I got a bone to pick with the bastard."

Catching the sound of a deep chuckle the two conversationalists spun around only to see a man with black hair pulled back into a long braid and sporting an expression that screamed arrogant. On his forehead were three small vertical slashes and his eyes were a bloody red that seemed to drill into you. He had tan skin and a lanky but muscled frame that was positioned in such a way that it match his expression.

"Is there something funny about what I just said?" asked Kagome.

Ceasing his laughter the man directed his red orbs at the female. "Well I would have to agree with our instructor, there's just no other way that you got into this class, let alone the top ten."

Observing that Kagome's already tightly clenched fists were even tighter and turning her knuckles white Shippo decided it was time for him to jump in. "My, first time meeting and you're _already_ jealous that other men can snag this beautiful creature yet you can't, someone's a little egotistical."

The snotty man gave the fox a dirty look. "And just who are you supposed to be?."

Gaining a twisted sense of pleasure from the other man's anger Shippo replied with a bright smile. "The name's Shippo Kasai and since you've already so _rudely_ interrupted our discussion it would only be fair for you to tell us yours."

Irked even further by the smart mouthed redhead the still nameless man slightly stuck out his chest and put a haughty smile on his thin lips. "I'm Hiten, Hiten Arashi and one of the last of the thunder tribe so you better watch your back mongrel."

Disliking the way that the new demon was talking to her companion Kagome decided to speak up. "Who do you think you are, God's gift the Earth? I don't think so. You can take our pompous attitude and cocky ass back over to wherever you came from."

Narrowing his eyes Hiten sneered at Kagome. "You need to keep your bitch in line fox."

Eyes widening in rage Kagome grew furious. "Bitch? You f-"

"Higurashi, Kasai, Arashi!"

All three turned towards the voice that called out to them only to be faced with the person that was at the core of their whole argument. Seeing the withering look that Sesshomaru was shooting them they all stiffened up in their spots.

"Unless you want to be shipped out to the front lines by tomorrow I _suggest _to start paying attention. I will not lose any sleep if one of you end up killed during this course." he continued in a voice that would put a blizzard to shame.

Choosing to pay attention the three joined the rest of their squad as they listened to Sesshomaru explain what was to be expected of them before heading out with the rest of the squads as the all went outside to the training course, beginning the grueling task of finishing the qualification course. A feat that many, and most, will never be able to accomplish.

**Authors Note:**

**That's it for now sorry about the sucky ending -_- and if it seems to be going slow that's cuz I'm trying to introduce as many of the characters as I can before really getting into the main plot but don't worry things are gunna start speeding up in the next chapter :)**

**As always R&R !**


	5. Chapter 5

Here's my apology for the late update a nice super long chapter just for you guys! :) (hope this makes up for it...)

"this" is talking

_'this' is thinking_

**"this"/'this' is things from the past**

** ##^&%#$% #%#$%#%**

The first week of the course was hell for everyone. Once the remaining cadets exited the large building they were forced to endure an extensive *PT that lasted all the way till midnight. Come the next day, and after 5 hours of sleep, they were forced to do the same thing over and over until the instructors felt they'd had enough. That meant running 8 miles up and down a beach, 50 push-ups every 30 minutes, no matter what you were doing, 200 sit ups after every interval, and a 2 hour long log PT. That was probably the worst part.

Log PT comprised of one 200 pound log for each squad and during the training the log was your best friend, you did EVE-RY-THING with it. Sit ups, dead lifts, holding it above your head for extended periods of time...you name it the log was somehow incorporated into it. Hell, they even made them do leg lifts with the bloody things! And if you're thinking that having demons on your squad made everything easier, think again. Right before the class started their first physical training course after their man hunt "game" all demons were given a special band that restricted their strength to that of a humans in order to, as Kagome's lovely (note the sarcasm) instructor said, "get a taste of the plight of humans."

The rest of the week contained people shouting in the recruit's faces about how sorry they were, intensive physical activity that increased every day, lots of snide remarks from the men towards Kagome, and, most prominently, complaining. If you thought a three year old was bad try being around a bunch of stuck up men that all thought they were the shit and shouldn't be "obligated to take this course."

By the time Sunday rolled around Kagome's whole body felt sore. Her arms and legs were like jello, her stomach felt like it was on fire, and the soles of her feet felt as though they were constantly walking on millions of sharp rocks. Since the time of the recruits beginning the real qualification course 13 men had already dropped out and the number was steadily climbing.

Watching yet another male walk up to the large golden gong sitting in the middle of the compound's courtyard and, with a defeated demeanor, hit the instrument hard enough so that everyone could hear, Kagome just shook her head. The gong signaled that a cadet had given up any chance that they had of becoming a SPOK. At the present time and in the future. The method was humiliating and nerve wracking all at the same time. Humiliating for the one that hit it; nerve wracking for those still in the running.

"And so another brave young soul falls."

Turning her gaze onto the cheekily smiling red head Kagome just rolled her eyes at his antics. Over the past week she'd learned that Shippo had a flare for the dramatic much like her friend back at her home base.

_'Wonder what would happen if the two ever met...'_ She contemplated the idea for a few seconds before mentally emptying her mind of the unpleasant image. _'Reminder to self: never let Shippo and Ayame meet. EVER.'_

"Come on kitten if you keep daydreaming like that you'll miss dinner and then you'll be royally screwed come tomorrow." Shippo sent a teasing smile in the female's direction.

Registering what her friend had just said Kagome let a small "crap" pass her pink lisps before she grasped the fox's larger hand with her own dainty one and dragged him to the chow hall, the whole way there scolding him for not telling her sooner. He just laughed.

After the duo had grabbed their meals they made their way over to their usual plastic table that was situated in the far right corner of the fairly large cafeteria. Already seeing that Inuyasha was seated at the small round table Kagome sent a small wave in his direction before sitting down next to him with Shippo on her right.

"So you're still here huh? Thought that sound awhile ago was you finally admitting that all this was too much for ya." Inuyasha shot at the raven haired woman next to him.

"Are you _still_ upset that I made it into first squad while you're stuck with second best?" Kagome asked mockingly.

Inuyasha flinched . "Jealous, of _you_? Ya right, I could have easily gotten on that squad if I wanted to! I just chose to hide my full potential that's all." He replied childishly.

Giving his dog eared companion a bored look Shippo raised one orange eyebrow. "You never learn do you baka."

"What was that brat?"

"You heard me bastard."

"Manwhore."

"Half breed."

"Ok guys if you're both done flirting I'd like to be able to eat before you both start making out with each other." Kagome glanced at the both of them with annoyed blue eyes.

Slightly disturbed and not wanting to risk bodily harm the two men sat down and began eating, though not before making faces at each other. Seeing this Kagome just sighed at their antics before deciding to start a conversation with her long time friend. "So how is your squad anyways Yasha, we usually don't get to see each other very much."

Shrugging his shoulders the half demon swallowed the piece of steak that he'd been chewing. "They're ok, though we got a few strange ones. There's this French dude that keeps complaining every time his "delicate complexion" gets dirtied, you can say our squad's become reeeeal friendly with the mud pit 'cause of him." At this both Shippo and Kagome gave him confused and pitying glances. The mud pit was a whole course that you basically had to crawl through without disturbing any of the many bells hanging really close above you and if anyone on your squad hit a single bell everyone had redo it till it was done right...and what kind of person joins the army but doesn't like to get dirty?

"We got a demon too, not sure what kind but he pretty much keeps to himself always muttering about some Tsukiyomi person...it's kinda creepy. The worst though has to be that damn monk. He's a good soldier, that is, till he opens his damn silver tongued mouth."

The fox turned surprised eyes onto the Inu. "No way there's actually someone with reiki here?"

Monks and priestesses alike were very rare these days due to a decrease in families containing holy blood. There were a few remaining clans that kept their bloodlines pure but most were too diluted to even show signs of containing reiki. Nowadays when a person containing holy energy was found they would immediately be placed in a training program to help them further their powers and to keep an eye on them.

Noticing the shocked faces the hanyo nodded. "I know right, I was surprised too, never met a holy person before. I always thought that they'd be all saintly and innocent, that is, till I met-"

"Miroku you little sneak give me my wallet back before I mess up that pretty face of yours!"

"Speak of the devil..."

Twisting their heads to watch the commotion the three's eyes met the site of a short bald man with strange markings around his eyes and chin glaring down at (or trying to) a handsome man with dark black hair that was pulled into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. Vibrant purple orbs framed by black bangs gazed at the small round man with a confused expression but the slight upward pull of his thin lips gave him away.

"Why whatever do you mean? I was merely walking to my seat before you started shouting accusations at me."

Three large tic marks quickly formed on top of the bald man's head while his overly large eyes narrowed in his ire. "You dirty monk you're more con artist than servant of Buddha now give it back or else..." As he said this the small male pulled out a tiny cylindrical container then put his pudgy hand on the cap, ready at any moment to release what was contained inside.

Not the least bit perturbed by the other man's threat the monk continued to address the angered male before him. "Now now Mukotsu let's not be hasty, I'm sure that there's a reasonable explanation for all of-"

"Stop trying to talk your way out of this! I know you've got it so why don't I just force it out of you with a little pain." Slowly Mukotsu began pulling the tiny lid off of the container allowing small wisps of purple smoke to flow through the small crack.

Inuyasha, recognizing the scent coming from the strange vapor for what it was, decided enough was enough. Quickly he made his way over to the quarreling duo passing Miroku and placing his hand on Mukotsu's shoulder from behind, surprising the short man. Turning towards the unknown person touching him the bug-eyed male came face to face with the object that started this whole argument...his wallet.

"I'm guessing this is yours so why don't ya put the damn poison away and continue on with your day."

Large surprised eyes just stared at the dark brown leather wallet before opening and closing his mouth causing his words to come out in a jumble of stuttered phrases. "But I thought...s-stole...he...you-YOU! Filthy dog yo-!"

He was unable to finish his sentence as Inuyasha had stuck the money holder into Mukotsu's large mouth, silencing him. "I found it on the floor ya moron so next time try using those big eyes of yours for something useful other than glaring."

Having finished his business Inuyasha made his way back over to the secluded table where his two friends were gaping at him. After having finally settled down into his seat the female and the fox couldn't hold it in any longer before busting out laughing. Leaning onto one another for support the two continued with their hysterics before calming down enough to speak coherently.

"Did you see the look on his face when you held up his wallet? Ha!" Kagome laughed.

"And after you shoved it into his mouth! It was like watching a parent shove a lollipop into a kids mouth to shut them up, priceless!" Continued Shippo.

"Why I couldn't agree more! What you did was rather hilarious, not to mention embarrassing for the poor fool."

Jumping slightly from the unexpected voice the laughing cadets flicked their heads in the direction of the unknown person only to come face to face with none other than Miroku.

"You!" They both exclaimed.

The monk smiled at the duo before addressing the silver haired male next to them. "Found it on the floor did you? Why I never thought you cared enough to even lie for me Inuyasha."

Scoffing at the grinning man Inuyasha turned his head in the other direction. "I don't know what you're talking bout, and I just didn't wanna deal with the poison comin' outta that capsule is all."

"Sure you do and I must commend you on your pick pocketing skills, to be able to take the wallet off me without my notice, you've had practice." Miroku stated with an air of appreciation.

Having been listening to their little conversation Kagome became puzzled over what was just said before an expression of realization and, soon after, anger graced her usually soft features. Standing abruptly from her seat and slamming both hands onto the table causing the three men there to quickly face her, the female lifted one hand to point accusingly at the alarmed hanyo. "All this time it was _YOU!" _

"Heh?!" Inuyasha slowly began pushing his chair away from the table.

"Don't you even start!" Kagome angrily voiced all the while stomping her way over to the frightened Inu. "All those times my ramen flavored snack bars went missing I always thought I must've misplaced them. I should have known it was you ya ramen freak! Do you have any idea how hard it was to sneak those onto the base?!"

_'Shit! Thanks ya damn monk!'_

_'Well, this is an interesting development.'_

_'Hehehe I hope she really thrashes him this time.'_

Having backed into the wall during his attempt to escape from his best friend's wrath Inuyasha just stared wide eyed at the approaching female with a hint of terror filtering through his honey colored irises. "Come on Serg it was just a little food can't we forget about it?"

"NO."

Upon reaching her intended target Kagome proceeded to help Inuyasha "relax" by thoroughly bashing his head into the wall, sending him to a nice peaceful slumber.

"Feisty isn't she?"

"You have no idea."

"Hmm..." Miroku started walking over to the irate woman until he was close enough to lay his left hand on her shoulder. "I think that our dear friend here has learned his lesson don't you?"

Peeking down at the crumbled form of the hanyo, Kagome gave one last huff in his direction. "Ya I guess..."

Mentally laughing at her actions Miroku led her back to the table and previously abandoned dinner. "I don't believe that we've been introduced. I'm Miroku Hitoshi."

Getting comfortable in her seat Kagome picked up her fork. "Kagome Higurashi."

"We'll it's a pleasure meeting you, it's not every day that you get to meet a beauty such as yourself." The monk praised while situating himself at the table with the two friends.

Blushing at the compliment Kagome looked up at him through shy eyes. "Th-thanks..."

Narrowing his green orbs Shippo tapped the female on the shoulder and motioned for her to lean towards him. Curious, Kagome complied.

"What's up Shippo?"

"There's something weird about him, I don't like it."

Shooting the fox a puzzled expression she replied. "Don't tell me you're upset that there's competition for biggest flirt." She teased.

"Wha-no! I've got no competition in that category believe me." He answered smugly.

"Then you must be imagining thi-"

.

.

.

*Twitch* (grope) * Twitch*

.

.

.

"HENTAI!" Smack!

"I take back what I said earlier there is something wrong with him! Damn pervert."

Staring at the "virtuous monk" lying face down and twitching on the floor Shippo lifted his wide eyes up to the cadet before him. "Did he just.."

"Uh-huh."

"But he's a.."

"Yup."

"And he thought..."

"Ya."

"...does he have a death wish?"

** ^%$&^%^%#*$&^$*^%#**

It was currently 3am and everyone on the base was fast asleep. Well, everyone except a few certain people.

"HOOOONNNNNKKKKK!"

"Ah!" Abruptly sitting up from her cot, Kagome listened to all the commotion going on before her sleep hazed mind began to clear and she realized just what that horn meant.

"Dammit! It hasn't even been 3 hours!"

Rushing around her tent, pulling on her clothes as fast as was humanly possible, the raven haired woman got ready for whatever the instructors were going to throw at them before sprinting out of the tent and towards the courtyard where they met up every morning.

Locating her squad and instructor Kagome fell in with them at the position of attention. About 10 seconds later Shippo came running up to them and fell in next to her while shooting her a questioning look. Shrugging her shoulders the female let her blue orbs survey the cadets that were present at the time. Everyone had a disheveled look to them and, considering they'd all just been rudely awakened, a slightly irritated air.

"Let's go ladies! You all better be in formation within the next thirty seconds or you're all going to be compensating me for wasting my time!" Shouted Toga.

Thirty seconds later had everyone lined up in formation and reluctantly awaiting their commanding officer's next order. Allowing a satisfied smirk to settle on his face Toga cleared his throat before he began to address the cadets in front of him. "Nice to see all your smiling faces this morning and welcome to Ironman Week. Now...open ranks, march!"

Spacing out, the cadets all had one thought going through their minds..._'What's Ironman Week?'_

A while later once the class had finished their stretches and jumping jacks they resumed the position of attention.

"Kiss the ground and get in the ready position ladies!"

This basically meant for the cadets to get ready for push-ups and, by the way the ever emotionless Sesshomaru was actually smiling ( well smirking really but it's as close as he'll ever get), first squad could tell that they were in for a rough day.

Stepping forward, Hyousuke ( AN: if you don't remember him refer to chapter 4) began the drill. "DOWN."

"ONE!"

"DOWN."

"TWO!"

Over the next 5 minutes they continued at this pace of about a push-up per second and, while most were keeping up with the difficult pace, there are always those few who think they can slack off and get away with it. Obviously they'd never heard the rumors of how cruel the S.P.O.K. instructors were.

"If I wanted you to give me half assed push-ups cadet I would've told you!"

Standing over the form of one of the cadets in the lower numbered squads was one of the many instructors.

Spraying the cadet with a hose.

In January.

And he wasn't the only one. About five men were being blasted in the face with the icy liquid by shouting instructors. Apparently these people had a sadistic streak in them considering it was at least 40 degrees out.

Having finished, all cadets where told to stay in the ready position then, on the instructors command, go down and hold that position for as long as they wanted you to. After a couple minutes you could tell that some of the men in the back had fallen to the floor by the booming voices of the proctors and the sound of water smacking against the hard concrete ground.

Inuyasha shot a snide remark at his instructor after being called a half-breed and received a face full of the clear substance. Upon seeing this Kagome let a small snort loose from her nose before finding herself in the same position.

"Something funny Higurashi?"

Realizing that Sesshomaru had somehow heard her sound of amusement over all the shouting going on around them the female mentally cursed. "No Sir!"

"We'll if you're unstable enough to be laughing at nothing then I think you should hold this position for an extra couple minutes. Might cure your insanity."

Keeping her face towards the cold ground in order to keep as much of the water out of her lungs and eyes as possible Kagome's features contorted into a scowl. "Yes Sir!"

Since she had to do the exercise longer than the rest of the group the raven haired female figured that Sesshomaru would join the rest of the squad at the next area that they'd gone to. Boy was she wrong. He stood there like a statue the whole extra two minutes WITH the damn hose still aimed at her. _'Its official, he hates me.'_

Once done Kagome bear crawled* over to the rest of the class, joining them at the pull-up bars. Her arms, along with a majority of the cadet's, were already feeling sore and seeing as they had only begun 12 minutes ago a few didn't know if they would last the day, much less the entire week. Knocking out 8 pull-ups each they all bear crawled back over to the area they were previously at to begin scissor kicks. Finally being off their arms pleased the whole class but the proctors weren't about to let them have it easy. Come ten minutes later burning abdominal muscles became a shared ailment among the S.P.O.K. hopefuls along with throbbing thighs.

This process repeated itself three more times before it was finally stopped and they all were brought to the front gate of the base and being told that they would be taking a forced march for an unknown distance.

Moving before the mass of recruits, Toga looked upon them with stern eyes. "You've got the next hour to finish this and the last squad to complete it will be spending the entire log PT under Ol' Misery understood?." A loud exclamation of "HUAH!" was heard before the General gave the cadets the signal to start.

Everyone took off in an instant until finally settling into a pace that was comfortable. Seeing that her entire squad lead the pack Kagome refused to be left behind and slowly increased her speed until she matched that of her fellow squad mates. One of the few things that she'd learned over the past week was that every recruit from first squad contained a serious competitive streak, herself included. To them failure was a sign of weakness, something that their instructor had pounded into their heads the moment he took control of the group. Sesshomaru also expected respect from his cadets and, God forbid, if you even smiled while in formation and broke your military bearing you'd be screwed. Just thinking of the sadistic male's antics brought a slight shiver to the jogging woman.

**Flashback**

The emotionless youkai had just called close ranks when Bankotsu couldn't quit laughing and chuckling from Jakotsu's latest joke. Hearing this, Sesshomaru called open ranks again before walking right up to the still chuckling man and puts his nose two inches from the now nervous male's face, glaring down at him, and loudly projected "What are you so happy about cadet?"

Instead of replying in a normal manner the baka decided to be snappy... so he came out with "Because it's a _**fine day**_ to be in S.P.O.K. Sir!" after hearing this Sesshomaru had stepped back with a smirk that would make even the toughest of men shit bricks and said aloud "So it's a fine day to be in S.P.O.K?"

"Yes sir!"

Turning abruptly, the inuyoukai walked back to the front of the platoon before addressing the now sweating cadet again. "So it's a fine day to be in S.P.O.K. recruit?"

"Yes sir!"

His features once again shaped into an unreadable iron mask. "So let me ask you this recruit... did you get laid today?"

Thrown off by the uncharacteristic question, Bankotsu hesitated for a few seconds. "No sir!"

Sesshomaru kept his stoic expression in place. "I hope you didn't get laid last night recruit, because that either meant you went *AWHOL last night or you're a queer."

"Did you go AWOL last night recruit?"

"No sir!"

"Are you a _queer_ recruit?"

"NO SIR!"

"Did you get paid today recruit?"

"NO SIR!"

If any of them at the time had paid close enough attention they would have noticed the minuscule uplifting of Sesshomaru's normally straight lips. "Well if you didn't get liad last night, and you didn't get paid today, then it isn't a "_fine day"_ to be in S.P.O.K. Now get up here and give me 60."

Fearing the wrath of their instructor, Bankotsu scrambled to the font of the squad and pounded out the 60 push-ups. Having a human blizzard for an instructor quickly destroyed any thoughts of having fun. Even the mightiest and most stubborn ships will sink when faced with a solid block of ice.

The whole squad had waited silently for him to complete his punishment. "Recover and fall back in."

"YES SIR!"

Watching the long haired male scurry back to his prior spot, Sesshomaru addressed the entire squad with bored eyes. "Now the rest of you weaklings...is it a fine day to be in S.P.O.K?"

Thinking not to repeat the same mistake that their comrade had made they all replied simultaneously. "NO SIR!"

Pools of molten had swiftly looked them all in the eye with a strange glint hidden within them. "Pathetic bunch of communistic, filthy...GET. DOWN."

Not having expected the small outburst from their leader, 1st Squad had stood shocked for a moment or two until the order had finally registered in their heads.

"Call it out recruit."

"Yes sir!" Replied Bankotsu.

After the whole group had finished and returned to stand at attention Sesshomaru asked them what they hoped to be the last question for a long time. "So is it a fine day to be in S.P.O.K?"

"YES SIR!"

This time the sadistic demon allowed a full blown smile to slip onto his lips. "Did you all get laid last night?"

**End Flashback**

_'That damn prick, he kept asking those same freaking questions over and over again until all of us could barely lift our arms! Forget about being a demon, he's the devil incarnate!'_

Having been lost in her thoughts for a while the female never noticed the group of men that had been slowly catching up to her during her internal musings. Before she was able to react one of the men had grabbed her forearm and quickly flung her into the thick brush that lined the edge of the road they were on. Disoriented by the sudden change of scenery Kagome sat there in the thick growth gathering her bearings and listening to the amused laughter of the men that continued down the trail.

"Bastards!" Springing to her feet Kagome noticed a slight pinprick of pain coming from her right ankle but brushed it off seeing as it didn't inhibit her ability to run. Hopping out of the greenery she landed on the dark asphalt, accidentally surprising a passing runner in the process.

"Kagome?"

Turning towards the familiar voice azure met amethyst, both equally surprised to see the other. "Miroku! Sorry bout that didn't mean to freak you out." She sheepishly replied while catching up to the jogging monk.

He waved a dismissing hand in her direction. "It's fine but I have to ask, exactly what were you doing in the bushes Kagome?"

Quickly remembering the reason she was even with the monk in the first place a raging fire seemed to consume the now glaring female. "They're dead! I'll show them not to screw with me just wait!" And before he could ask what she was talking about Kagome increased her speed and left the confused monk in her wake.

"...what was that about..."

**%$#&^%#&^%&$#*&$%**

Once she had caught up with her attackers the enraged woman proceeded to knock them thoroughly unconscious before joining back up with the rest of her squad who, other than Shippo, seemed to not even notice she'd disappeared for a while.

_'More like they just didn't care, the apathetic lot they are.'_

They had finished the forced march hours ago and were currently going through the many obstacle courses housed on the large compound. Lightly pushing off from the platform Kagome allowed her body to relax as she rappelled down the 100 foot wall and smoothly landed after reaching the ground. Being sure to hastily release her harness from the rope she jogged back over to the rest of her squad that was waiting for their last two members to finish the course. Hiten and Ryuji were the last to join them.

Observing that his squad was once again complete, Sesshomaru excused himself from the discussion he was having with his father and slowly walked over to them. "Once you are done with lunch I want you all out at the log pit and don't be late. Do I make myself clear?"

"Huah!"

"You're dismissed."

Standing in the same position Sesshomaru watched them all make their way towards the Chow Hall until one of them caught his attention seeing as they were slightly different than the rest.

"Hn."

**^%E#^*&%*&^$(&^$*^%**

Twenty minutes had passed and every cadet was lined up in formation in front of the log pit. One wooden post was laid out for every squad and sitting in the back was Ol' Misery herself. A 300 pound monstrosity with the inscription 'Misery Loves Company' running along the side of it. Seeing that the squad being led to it contained the men that had thrown her into the bushes Kagome made sure they saw the smug smile gracing her features as they passed.

After having reached the halfway point of the Log PT, about an hour into it, the cadets that were forced under Ol' Misery looked about ready to pass out or crawl to their own grave. Everyone else under the regular 200 pound logs were also extremely fatigued, just not as bad as the unfortunate souls at the back. The first couple minutes under the heavy telephone poles really weren't that bad. The weight was evenly distributed amongst the entire squad and easily manageable but that wasn't the purpose of the exercise. No, it was all about endurance. Sure there are people out there that could bench the exact poundage of the wooden weights no problem but if you think about it, how many can they actually pump out before getting tired? 5? 10? 15? 20 if you're really good? The recruits, even though not individually carrying the entire load, had to keep it up for 2 hours after having spent the day doing nothing but physical activity.

Loud grunts and exclamations of extreme effort became the norm while in the earthen pit. Every few minutes you'd hear an instructor shouting at one of the members of their squad telling them to either carry his own weight or do everyone a favor and quit already. It was only the first day of the week but the stress was already beginning to get under some of the cadet's skins.

"Lift!"

Raising shaking arms the S.P.O.K hopefuls pushed the heavy posts above their heads and held them there till told otherwise. Kagome was situated near the back of her group's log making it harder for her to be seen by her instructor. Unfortunately that also meant that some of the guys that were on her squad decided to screw with her. To the back of the female cadet stood Bankotsu and in front of her was Jakotsu. Unnoticed by the concentrating woman the two brothers shared a quick look, silently communicating and agreeing to something before releasing the pressure that they were exerting on the wooden pole above them until they were only barely touching it.

Feeling the sudden increase in weight, azure eyes widened under the sudden onslaught. She could hear a faint chuckling to her rear and looked up to see Jakotsu barely turning his head towards her with a rather amused look on his features.

Ever so slowly the back end of the log began to sink lower and lower as Kagome's arms became weaker and weaker. Having noticed the steadily increasing tilt, Sesshomaru turned from the cadet he was previously 'encouraging' (not) and silently made his way over to Kagome and the two soldiers next to her.

Sweat was gradually dripping down Kagome's face due to the exertion of holding the back end all by herself and her hands, also covered in perspiration, made her grip on the log slicker and more difficult to keep up. The 200 pound weight bit by bit closed the distance between the bottom of the log and the crown of her head, bending her arms at an angle that made it near impossible to hold up the wooden post.

Finally cracking under the pressure her limbs fell to her sides, the log soon following until the two trouble makers decided to get their butts in gear and lift the post back up to its original height without her. It was at this moment that their instructor chose to make himself known.

Casually stepping up to the sore female Sesshomaru had only one emotion seeping though his otherwise impenetrable mask. Disdain.

Seeing that one look was all Kagome needed to know exactly what her stoic instructor was thinking. She didn't belong. She was inadequate. She would fail.

He didn't even utter one word, and he didn't need to since his message was clearly received. Pissed off by the wordless insult, Kagome pushed her body and lifted her arms despite the burning sensation running through them and rejoined her squad, a fierce determination leaking from her fatigued body.

She kept this up for the last hour of the log PT and joined in the collective sigh released by the whole class as they were finally told to put the logs down and fall into formation outside of the dirt pit. At this point the sun was beginning to go down and everyone was praying that the day was finally over.

They should've known better.

Next thing they all know they're being shuffled off to the ocean and told to jump in.

In the evening.

In January.

"Is it just me or do our instructors seem hell bent on giving us hypothermia by the time we leave this place?" Inquired Shippo who was panting next to her as all the cadets were running towards the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean.

"Sure seems that way to me" Kagome huffed "if this is what we're doing the whole week."

Finally having reached the water's edge the two submerged themselves in the icy liquid before lying on their backs in the surf zone and beginning to link arms with the rest the cadets. They sat there floating in the salty water, the proctors scanning the massive chain of people for signs of hypothermia, for about 10 minutes before being ushered out of the ocean and onto the sandy golden beach where the shivering recruits proceeded to fully cover themselves in the grainy substance.

With a face full of sand the female ran up to Sesshomaru along with her entire squad of freezing men where they were told to run down to the water _AGAIN_ and return to him.

They repeated this process multiple times, essentially running suicides up and down the beach, till their already aching legs could go no more.

Standing exhausted in front of her instructor Kagome felt like she might fall asleep on her feet. 3 hours of sleep and nearly 17 hours of straight exercise really put a strain on the young woman and everyone else as well. The demons seemed to be taking it better then most since usually they could go days without sleep but even they were feeling the strain.

"Wake up ladies we've still got plenty to do." Shouted the five star general.

Groans from a few cadets were caught by the sensitive ears of demon instructors and then accordingly punished. Their entire squad was forced to run up and down the beach from the top of the slippery dune to the edge of the cold sea and back all under a time limit and if every last member of the squad didn't meet that time constraint they would repeat it. Again. And again. And again until completed by the whole squad within the time given.

Turning from watching the squads that were struggling running on the beach Toga's sharp features faced the remaining groups that had been smart enough not to complain. "I told you in the beginning that it pays to win, now here's your reward. Kiss the ground and give me 60. Sesshomaru."

Stepping forward the silver haired male, with a grace that only demons could accomplish, went to stand next to his father and commanding officer. Having everyone in the ready position Sesshomaru began counting off for them, the occasional squad that had completed their punishment beginning their own set of push-ups at the same pace as the ones that had been left atop the dune.

"At ease." Commanded Sesshomaru as the fairly large group of cadets that he'd been leading finished their exercise. Passing blank eyes over the congregation of recruits his gaze lingered on one spot longer than the rest before continuing with his perusal.

It would be ten more minutes before the last of the squads that were sent towards the ocean returned and fell into the formation of waiting cadets that were shaking in their boots from the biting wind that was blowing against their already cold and soaked bodies. Knowing to keep the cadet's body temperatures up they gave the recruits the command to do some of their warm up exercises such as jumping jack and stretches so they don't cramp up. The squads then resumed their PT session by doing a 4 mile run down the beach. 2 miles down and 2 back running along the water. The fatigue plus the cold temperature had finally began to take a large toll. People that had originally been seen as some of the better athletes fell behind and lagged towards the rear of the group.

Running on the sand, though compacted due to the water, was a serious strain. No matter how hard they pushed against the ground it would just give way underneath their feet. Where normally they would at least have covered a couple feet in one stride they'd only moved a foot or less with each step taken. Kagome could tell that some of the demon were becoming frustrated by their sudden decrease in strength. Normally this type of thing wouldn't even make them break a sweat but due to the bands they wore on their wrists the super human strength they were naturally born with was virtually inexistent.

"You better *huff* keep up *huff* Serg." Inuyasha breathed out while jogging next to her.

Kagome managed a tired smile. "You're one to *huff* talk. Breathing *huff* heavy."

"Ha! I could *huff* keep this up *huff* no problem *huff* woman!"

"I'll *huff* still beat ya *huff* Yasha."

"We'll *huff* see."

Though weak their competitive spirits were still very much alive inside them, unwilling to let the other gain the upper hand. When coming in on the final stretch, though not moving very fast they glared at each other all the way to the finish.

By the time all cadets were done it had been well over an hour since they had begun and everyone was done. They were sore, aching, and swollen in places that they didn't even know could be. It seemed that the instructors had had their full of torturing the recruits for the night and called them all to attention in order to dismiss them to their campsite.

Giving a fair warning, the cadets were told that they would be up early again in order to repeat the routine they had completed today.

Toga again came forward to address the mass of cadets that were practically sleeping on their feet. "Go rest, this is just the beginning."

**^%$#&%$#^#$ #&^%*&$**

PT: physical training

Bear crawl: Its where youlean down to the ground holding yourself up on your hands and feet and walk around like that on all fours.

Wow it's been...5 months!? Already?

Damn...

Well, at least I finally finished the chapter woohoo! ( does a victory dance ) I promise I'll try not to take so long ever again but it won't be anything like once a week. I'll make sure to let you know when it's gunna be especially long.

On a different note, I would really love to hear what EVERYONE'S thinking so far about the story so don't be shy! I want to know your opinions and I'll welcome any suggestions that you might have and I'll try to answer any questions you think of the best I can.

Hope you enjoyed! ( and review it keeps me going! )


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